Another day; another weather headache for the Clerk of the Course. An overnight gale, with a deluge of biblical proportions, left him no choice but delay the start of the day’s first contingency practice session by 3 hours; then, that had to be extended due to a road traffic incident in the vicinity of Duke’s. The roads had a multitude of damp; or just plain wet areas. These areas were very well flagged by the orange army whose numbers were boosted by those answering an appeal for more marshals to enable the required manning levels to be reached. The Clerk of the Course reiterated yesterday’s message to riders that any wild riding would mean exclusion. The message was heeded; just two minor incidents with no injuries.
The Classic and Lightweight machines were out first, and as expected speeds were well below those seen in the first two practice sessions. Stuart Hall was first to reach Milntown Bridge on his Lightweight Yamaha; he had Mike Browne close behind on the Eureka Norton. Roads here were completely dry so speeds were fairly high, and we were treated to some nice wheelies. Michael Dunlop’s Honda 250cc; after early retirements in the first two sessions, sounded neat and Michael was; as always; tucked under the bubble. He pulled in at the Grandstand after a class leading first lap and did not reappear. The second lap was faster for all as the riders’ confidence in the improving conditions rose. At the end of the first part of the session the Lightweights were headed by Stuart Hall at 111.535mph. Michael Dunlop’s lap gave him second; marginally quicker than Mikey Evans who was very impressive on the Gary Vines tribute KTM. The Classic Juniors were a Honda benefit; they were led by Paul Jordan on the Davies machine; second was Mikey Evans (Ken Rutter) with Dan Sayle (John Chapman) third. Shaun Anderson has settled well on the Peter Beugger Paton; he led the Classic Senior chart at 108.410mph, from John McGuinness on the Winfield Paton; with Mike Browne third on the Eureka Norton.
The start of the session for the Classic Superbikes; Senior and Junior MGP was delayed due to a non-racing medical emergency in a trackside house in Ramsey. The lost time meant just two laps for the riders. The speeds were most impressive at Milntown; as were some of the wheelies. The Classic Superbikes were a Kawasaki benefit; Dominic Herbertson topped the speed charts at 122.600ph on his BHR machine. Derek Sheils continued to impress; he was second on the Greenall machine; with Craig Neve third on the Batham’s machine. The Senior speed chart was topped by Chris Cook on his self-funded Kawasaki. Michael Gahan was second his Newline Elite Group Yamaha; with Dan Sayle third on his Falcon Electrical Yamaha. Andrea Majola continued to be the man to beat in the Junior; he led at 112.500mph on the VAS Paton. Marizio Bottalico was second once again on his Venditti / Seipa Paton. Dan Ingham was third on his Castings Technology Aprilia. Newcomers Johnny Stewart and Caomhan Canny breeched the 110mph barrier; a real achievement given the lack of track time and generally poor conditions.
The evening session was a few minutes away from the scheduled start when the weather turned; heavy rain hit the western and northern sectors ending play for the day. Saturday is scheduled to see more qualifying in the morning; followed by 3 races in the afternoon and evening. Sunday will see no racing due to the dreadful weather forecast. Monday will bring the final three races; weather Gods permitting. The riders; marshals; organizers and spectators deserve to see the full programme completed, after what has been the worst week of practice weather for a generation.